Concrete Angel
by Josee-ann
Summary: When Andrea Montez is away on business trips, her daughters, Monica and Gabriella have to face the wrath of their often drunken father. Based on the song Concrete Angel by Martina McBride


**Author's Note: Hoo boy. I just wrote this story and while I was writing it, I started crying. I don't often cry while reading fanfics unless they are _really _sad and I cried while_ writing _one. So I'm just warning you now, this one is really sad. I don't know if it's a oneshot or I might write a sequel to it. But right now, it's just a story. I hope you like. I love this story despite the fact its sad. One of my best works I think. But that's just my opinion. So R&R! Oh, and also let me know if you think it should just stay a oneshot or whatever.**

**Based on the song "Concrete Angel" by Martina McBride. If you don't know the song, I suggest you watch the video on youtube.**

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**Concrete Angel**

When her mom was home, Gabriella was happy. No arguments. No drinking. No screams in the middle of the night. But it was when Andrea Montez was on business trips that Gabriella and her older sister Monica were in a nightmare.

Monica, at the tender age of nine, packed her little sister's lunch. Her dark curls tumbling over her face, hiding the recent bruises. Gabriella sits quietly at the table, which is rare for an eight year old. She yanks her sleeves of her faded blouse down her arm, shielding any sign of harm. She sniffs slightly. There is a distant sound of snoring from the bedroom down the hall. Monica wraps up the paper bags and turns round to face Gabriella.

"Come on Gabby, get your things, we gotta go."

She gives her the same smile every morning. The one especially saved for her

little sister. The smile that said, "I'm your big sister and it's my job to take care of you." And she always did.

**_She walks to school with a lunch she packed_**

_**Nobody knows what she's holding back**_

_**Wearing the same dress she wore yesterday**_

_**She hides the bruises with linen and lace**_

Every step on the way to school, Gabriella and Monica held each other's hand. Rarely talking, even more rarely soft giggling, but often silent yet reassured that they had each other.

The other mothers often wondered about those two girls. Whenever their mother dropped them off at the school, they were like any other child in the playground. It was when they were on their own, walking slowly with haunted looks on their faces, that it was the topic of their usual gossip conversation at the school gates.

**_The teacher wonders but she doesn't ask_**

_**It's hard to see the pain behind the mask**_

_**Bearing the burden of a secret storm**_

_**Sometimes she wishes she was never born**_

It was Monica who often bared the brunt of his awful, drunken temper. The man they had to call "their father". On the outside, he was seen as the perfect husband and father. Sure, he didn't have a job, it was his wife who supported the family but he always took the job of looking after the kids. On the inside, the side only seen by his two innocent daughters, he was the man most people only see in their nightmares. He was their nightmare.

The girls come in from school and are welcomed with an angry stagger. He appears at the doorway. Holding up a shaky finger, he points at Monica.

"You…"

Monica stands there, grasping Gabriella's hand tightly. She is powerless. She always is. When he stumbled towards her she hunches up, knowing what comes next. She pushes Gabriella away from her as if it will save her. The "father" reaches out his muscled arms and grasps the top of Monica's head and yanks her hair. Yelling abuse, he continues to pull and eventually throws her against the brick wall and she collapses in defeat. He kicks her in the stomach as a final touch. There is only the sound of her gentle weeping.

Gabriella cowers behind the staircase, watching with wide eyes, one of many scenes that will haunt her forever. He notices her and swaggers towards her.

"Come here"

Gabriella stands rooted to the spot yet she hunches up too. With one swift blow over the head, she topples onto the floor. Satisfied, he wanders back into the living room, back to the drinks cabinet.

**_Through the wind and the rain_**

_**She stands hard as a stone**_

_**In a world that she can't rise above**_

"Gabby?"

Gabriella opens her eyes and sees Monica looking down on her with a comforting smile. There is blood dripping down from the side of her face but she doesn't seem to notice. After all, its nothing she hasn't endured before.

Monica holds out her hand lifts Gabriella up from the floor. They both walk up the stairs to wash themselves off.

"Monica?" Quaint little Gabriella asks. "What did I do? Was I bad?"

"No Gabby, you were a good girl, you were always a good girl"

"Then why does this keep happening?" Gabriella starts to cry. Monica hugs her.

"Don't worry Gabby, it won't happen forever. Soon we'll grow up and live in that big house and have two dogs and two cats and maybe we'll get married and have kids of our own. Just like we dreamed about. Remember?"

"I remember"

**_But her dreams give her wings As she flies to a place_**

_**Where she's loved**_

_**Concrete Angel**_

Later on that night, Gabriella was now settled in her bed waiting for Monica to come back from the bathroom. She was struggling to read her favourite bedtime story and needed her help.

"Monica, hurry up!"

"I'm coming, I'm just brushing my teeth."

"Monica, will you SHUT THE HELL UP!"

Both girls froze, aware of what was going to happen. Gabriella hurriedly closed her book and shoved it under her bed. Monica quickly tried to spit out her toothpaste but was not quick enough. The large upcoming thumps from the stairs could be heard miles away. Gabriella put her head on the pillow, silently praying for Monica to hurry up. And she tried. All Gabriella saw was Monica opening the door to the bedroom. Then the demon grabbing her arm and pulling her out of the bedroom, consequently closing the door.

The slapping.

The thumping.

The yelling.

The sobbing.

Gabriella held her hands over her ears, trying to block out the noise. Her mind drifted to the dream that Monica always told her to think about whenever this was happening. It helped her remember that life won't always be like this.

**_Somebody cries in the middle of the night_**

_**The neighbours hear but they turn out the light**_

The slapping , the thumping, the yelling, the sobbing, it all stops. Gabriella now only hears the slow thumps of the stairs. She waits for Monica to come back in their bedroom. She waits and waits. Monica always got up from the beating, why wasn't she this time?

Gabriella slowly gets out of bed and walks in her Winnie the Pooh pyjamas towards the door. She grasps the handle, turns it and pulls it towards her. There she sees something the will haunt her most of all.

Monica's limp body lying in a pool of blood.

**_A fragile soul caught in the hands of fate_**

_**When morning comes it will be too late**_

Gabriella's tears stream down her face. She walks toward the unconscious Monica, reaches out and holds her hand.

"Monica? It'll be okay. Come one, just wake up. Everything will be fine. Like you said. It won't always be like this. Just wake up."

But Monica wouldn't wake up. Gabriella didn't know what to do. She felt alone in a house with a demon. And her only saviour was not waking up.

Then she remembered what they had told her in school. What to do in an emergency?

She lets go of Monica's hand and silently hurries into the master bedroom. She picks up the phone and pushes the three vital digits.

"Ambulance please. And Police. My daddy's hurt my big sister." Gabriella sobs into the phone.

**_Through the wind and the rain_**

_**She stands hard as a stone**_

_**In a world that she can't rise above**_

The police tear down the front door. They arrest the man and take him outside. The paramedics call out little Gabriella's name.

"I'm up here."

Gabriella lies next to her sister, clutching her hand. She still hasn't woken up. The blood has now stained Gabriella's pyjamas but she doesn't care. The paramedics rush up the stairs. The woman paramedic is shocked by the sight at first but then remembers to focus on her job. Gabriella at first refuses to leave her sister but is ushered away by the nice-looking police lady. But all her thoughts are on Monica.

Just after an hour, the paramedics take Monica out of the house. There is a white sheet over her head. The neighbours' watch horrified from behind the yellow strip. But Gabriella doesn't understand what's going on. Then a car drives up to the house. It's their mother. She had driven all the way from New York when she heard what had happened when the police called her. She sees the stretcher. And the white sheet. She breaks down.

_**But her dreams give her wings**_

_**As she flies to a place where she's loved.**_

_**Concrete angel**_

**_A statue stands in a shaded place_**

_**An angel girl with an upturned face**_

A few days later, Gabriella stands at the empty grave beside her mother who is overcome by grief. The priest continues the funeral and the short coffin is laid down into the grave. Andrea tosses a red rose down into the grave. So does her uncle. But Gabriella does something different. She pulls out a piece of paper from her dress pocket.

"What's that sweetie?"

"It's a picture I drew. It's me and Monica's dream. See, there's me and Monica and our big house and our two dogs and our two cats. If Monica's going to heaven, I want her to take our dream with her,"

Gabriella bends down on her knees and slowly drops the picture into the grave. Everyone else is completely overcome by the gesture but Gabriella seems unfazed.

"She was my angel. She deserves to go to heaven."

_**A name is written on a polished rock**_

_**A broken heart that the world forgot**_

Gabriella's father was sent down for murder. He was given a life sentence. Gabriella didn't think that was long enough.

**_Through the wind and the rain_**

_**She stands hard as a stone**_

_**In a world that she can't rise above**_

_**But her dreams give her wings **_

_**As she flies to a place where she's loved**_

Andrea never left home for business trips anymore. Instead, she was transferred places. And she always took Gabriella with her.

If she hadn't taken Gabriella, then Gabriella would never had gone to East High. And she wouldn't have become friends with Taylor and Chad and, more importantly, Troy. But we all know there's something more than friendship between them.

But every so often, Gabriella wants to go home to her hometown. Just for a few days. Just so she can go to the cemetery and spend time with Monica.

She was her angel after all.

**_Concrete Angel_**

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**A/N: So yeah, that's the story. Let me kno what you think! x x x**


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